I love to read, and I always have, but I have a bad habit when I read. After reading the first few chapters, I often read the ending. I become so consumed with how the story will end and worried about the ending that I am unable to focus on the book I am reading. Maybe you can relate. I have come to understand that my lousy reading habit comes from my tendency to worry. Worry keeps us from focusing on the present day we are living because we are so focused on what might happen in the future. Instead of worrying about the future, a better practice is focusing on the present day instead of future worries.
Jesus encouraged listeners to focus on the present day instead of their worries during one of His most famous sermons in Matthew 6. He instructed listeners in this passage of Scripture not to worry. As He finished His teaching on worry, Jesus said, “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (verse 34). Instead of focusing on the future and worrying, we can fight against worry by focusing on this day that God has given us.
Jesus’ teaching about focusing on today instead of worrying about the future brings Psalm 118:24 to mind: “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” Instead of worrying and being overly concerned about the future, we can focus on the day God has given us. Psalm 118:24 can be our anthem. We can rejoice in this very day God has given us instead of worrying about tomorrow, a year from now, or twenty years from now.
Today, this very day, is a gift. May we all focus on the gift that God has given us today and thank Him for all He has done. When we focus on today, we will find our worries fade to the background as we live for this day that God has given us and find joy in it.
Memorize Psalm 118:24. Take this verse to heart today. Choose to focus on today instead of the future and commit to rejoice and find joy in this day that God has given you. Reflect on how focusing on today instead of the future impacted your day and your tendency to worry.
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
2 Let all Israel repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:
“His faithful love endures forever.”
5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord,
and the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?
7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.
I will look in triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in people.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
10 Though hostile nations surrounded me,
I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me,
but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed against me like a crackling fire.
But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.
13 My enemies did their best to kill me,
but the Lord rescued me.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has given me victory.
15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph.
The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!
17 I will not die; instead, I will live
to tell what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not let me die.
19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,
and I will go in and thank the Lord.
20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,
and the godly enter there.
21 I thank you for answering my prayer
and giving me victory!
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.
24 This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Please, Lord, please save us.
Please, Lord, please give us success.
26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, shining upon us.
Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will praise you!
You are my God, and I will exalt you!
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
